What is the 'hypothetical minimal genome' required for a living organism to exist? Researchers thought that maybe a living cell could get away with 256 genes, but it didn't produce a viable living organism. So after a some trial & error iterations of editing simple bacterial genomes, it looks like 473 genes might be the smallest genome that life needs... to be called life. (And we still don't know what a significant fraction of these genes do.) [url]

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]]>urls-we-dig-uphttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110523/00465214392Tue, 17 Nov 2015 17:00:00 PSTDailyDirt: What's In Your... DNA?Michael Hohttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110223/08365513229/dailydirt-whats-your-dna.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110223/08365513229/dailydirt-whats-your-dna.shtmlGATTACA-esque future where designer babies are possible and replicants/clones can be grown for replacement parts. But it might take a while still before we're engineering lifespans and curing the disease of aging.

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]]>urls we dig uphttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110223/08365513229Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:00:00 PDTDailyDirt: Zombies!Michael Hohttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091114/0221096928/dailydirt-zombies.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091114/0221096928/dailydirt-zombies.shtmlthe CDC!) make some of the premises for these zombie movies sound plausible, but mother nature itself has created a few zombie phenomena as well. Here are just some examples.

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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]]>urls-we-dig-uphttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20091114/0221096928Tue, 1 Feb 2011 03:31:01 PSTOne Of The Earliest Computer Viruses Was Really DRM Gone WrongMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110127/23533212868/one-earliest-computer-viruses-was-really-drm-gone-wrong.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110127/23533212868/one-earliest-computer-viruses-was-really-drm-gone-wrong.shtmlhit the 25th anniversary of "digital vandalism" in the form of computer viruses. I'm pretty sure he's wrong about that, as just a few years back there were all those news reports about how Rich Skrenta (who later went on to found the Open Directory Project, Topix and Blekko) created the first widespread computer virus in Elk Cloner back in 1982. That said, Elk Cloner was more of a prank. The virus Gibson is talking about was more malicious, in that it locked up files. So, if Gibson's point is that this was the first malicious virus, perhaps that's more accurate (though, I would imagine there are some other claims to the throne).

Still, what may be most interesting is that the virus that Gibson discusses was really based on an early attempt at DRM:

IN January 1986, Basit and Amjad Alvi, sibling programmers living near the main train station in Lahore, Pakistan, wrote a piece of code to safeguard the latest version of their heart-monitoring software from piracy. They called it Brain, and it was basically a wheel-clamp for PCs. Computers that ran their program, plus this new bit of code, would stop working after a year, though they cheerfully provided three telephone numbers, against the day. If you were a legitimate user, and could prove it, they'd unlock you.

But in the way of all emergent technologies, something entirely unintended happened. The Alvis' wheel-clamp was soon copied by a certain stripe of computer hobbyist, who began to distribute it, concealed within various digital documents that people might be expected to want to open.

Gibson talks about his own surprise that it was hobbyists who really drove digital vandalism (and to some extent, still do). What I find even more interesting is how early on DRM was already over-aggressive and getting in the way of legitimate uses.

When asked to remove the virus from the laptop, Mr. Bedi allegedly told Mr. Davidson that his computer had in fact been attacked with a virus so virulent that it also damaged Datalink's computers, according to prosecutors.

Mr. Bedi told Mr. Davidson that he had tracked the source of the virus to a remote village in Honduras and that Mr. Bedi's uncle, purportedly an officer in the Indian military, had traveled there in a military aircraft and retrieved the suspicious hard drive, prosecutors said.

In addition, Mr. Bedi told the victim that his uncle had uncovered an assassination plot against Mr. Davidson by Polish priests tied to Opus Dei, according to prosecutors....

In addition to the thousands of dollars charged to secure Mr. Davidson's computer, Mr. Bedi and Ms. Invarsdottir allegedly charged thousands more to provide 24-hour covert protection for Mr. Davidson and his family.

Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini said the couple charged Mr. Davidson about $160,000 every month for bogus security and other services. At the time of their arrest, Ms. Invarsdottir had $1.6 million in a bank account and Mr. Bedi had $6 million in a separate account, Mr. Marraccini said. Those accounts have been frozen and computers and business documents were seized by police, Mr. Marraccini said.

According to the article, this scam only came to light after law enforcement was investigating Bedi and Invarsdottir for another scam, suggesting that this may have been an even bigger scam, with more targets.

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]]>opus dei has infected your computerhttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101110/01222611790Thu, 27 May 2010 20:03:38 PDTCaptain Cyborg Has A Virus-Infected Sidekick... But Nothing Can Stop A PR CampaignMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100526/1800199593.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100526/1800199593.shtmltoo much press for nothing special. The Register, amusingly, dubbed him "Captain Cyborg" and regularly mocked his various exploits. We haven't heard much about Warwick in a while, but when I saw a bunch of folks chatting about a BBC article concerning the "first human infected with computer virus," I was immediately reminded of Warwick. Reading through the article, it was no surprise to find out that this "experiment" is actually being conducted by a colleague of Warwick's, Mark Gasson -- who according to Warwick's own bio lead the research group that Warwick works in.

The story is -- as with all captain cyborg stories -- a lot less than the headline suggests. Gasson wasn't "infected with a computer virus." He took a chip that had a computer virus and stuck it in his arm, just like Warwick has done n the past. The parallels to an actual virus are minimal, and the usefulness for anything is even less than that. Gasson presents this as useful for considering the implications for implanted technology such as pacemakers, but that's nothing new. People have talked about potential technology issues from the wireless interface to pacemakers for years. Doing some sort of publicity stunt with an implanted computer chip doesn't further that discussion along.

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]]>virus-infected?https://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100526/1800199593Mon, 9 Feb 2009 13:25:07 PSTUnpatched, Virus-Infected Windows To Blame For Grounded French Fighter Pilots And Halt To Traffic Arrests In HoustonMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090208/1333453687.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090208/1333453687.shtmlstopped arresting people with outstanding traffic warrants and shut down the municipal court system for a few days to try to deal with their computer systems being overrun by the virus. Then, across the Atlantic, the French Navy is dealing with a similar problem, forcing them to ground many of their fighter planes. Some naval staff were told not to turn on their computers at all, as apparently the Navy's internal computer network has been hit by the virus as well. Apparently, now might be a good time to run some traffic lights in Houston or invade France (kidding, kidding...).

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]]>gov't-securityhttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20090208/1333453687Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:16:28 PDTMore Scammers Using Bogus Copyright Infringement Accusations To Get Their WayMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080908/0228332196.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080908/0228332196.shtmlscammers were picking up the success the entertainment industry was having with "pre-settlement" letters to accused file sharers, and using a similar tactic with phone calls, demanding money to avoid getting sued. We noted that it was only a matter of time until those scammers moved to email as well -- and, of course, it's already happened. TorrentFreak is reporting on how scammers are sending threatening letters pretending to be from MediaDefender, one of the firms who provides questionable evidence to the recording industry for its lawsuits. These emails include an attachment, which the email says is more data on what the recipient is accused of sharing on various sites -- but which is actually a virus. So it's not quite to the level of extorting money directly yet -- but that's likely only a matter of time, if it's not happening already.

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]]>it's-just-too-easyhttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080908/0228332196Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:48:00 PDTViruses... In... SpaaaaaaaaaceMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080827/0732392112.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080827/0732392112.shtmlapparently contained a virus designed to swipe user passwords, though they're not sure how it happened. The computers don't control anything mission critical, but are used by astronauts to send email and to track their nutritional programs. The computers were never connected to the internet, so NASA is guessing that an astronaut had an infected USB key or something that resulted in the virus getting onto the computer.

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]]>for-you-muppet-fanshttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080827/0732392112Mon, 4 Aug 2008 01:28:03 PDTCollege Classes On Malware Writing Still Piss Off Anti-Virus FirmsMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080803/1834441874.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080803/1834441874.shtmlwriting computer viruses. And, of course, various anti-virus companies went ballistic, claiming how dangerous it was. Yet, as we pointed out at the time, anti-virus companies don't have the greatest track record in actually stopping viruses -- so it seemed only reasonable to teach people to better "think like the enemy." Anyway, it appears not much has changed. Theodp writes in to let us know about an article in Newsweek about a very similar course being taught at Sonoma State University by George Ledin, where students are tasked with creating their own malware.

Once again, various security companies are condemning the technique, even sinking so low as to compare Ledin to A.Q. Khan, the Pakistani scientist who sold nuclear technology to North Korea. They even insist they won't hire his students -- which seems particularly short-sighted. As Ledin points out, it appears that this is really more about the security companies wanting to keep the world more scared than they need to be of malware, so as to pretend that they're the only ones who can solve the "problem" -- when the truth is they're not very effective at it. He complains that anti-virus firms keep their code secret (thank you, DMCA). He points out that if they were willing to open it up, and let lots of folks work on improving it, it would get much, much better. All he's trying to do is help more people understand the enemy without first having to work at one of those companies that's been so ineffective in stopping malware -- in the hopes that maybe some of his students can actually come up with a better soltuion.

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]]>security-through-obscurityhttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080803/1834441874Wed, 21 May 2008 20:35:00 PDTMore Patent Battles Making Your Computer Less SecureMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080521/1341321193.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080521/1341321193.shtmlpatent battles among security software companies, noting how the end result would undoubtedly be less secure computers. As these security firms argued over who thought up an idea "first" and who owed who what amounts of money, you can rest assured that those exploiting the security holes couldn't care any less about who came up with what exploit first. In the constant battle between security firms and malicious hackers, distracting the security firms and having resources devoted to arguing over patents (and paying each other royalties) seems designed to just make it that much easier for malicious hackers to stay that much further ahead, while making it more and more difficult for any security firm to actually provide anything close to comprehensive security. And, it's only going to get worse. Slashdot points us to an article about Microsoft's rather broad patent on proactive virus protection, despite the fact that others had proactive virus protection products on the market well before Microsoft filed for the patent. While Microsoft isn't yet doing anything with the patent, the fact that it got it now means that others have to be extra careful in tiptoeing around proactive virus protection -- and that's only going to make virus makers happy.

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]]>ain't-patents-great?https://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080521/1341321193Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:45:40 PSTJapanese Officials Use Copyright Law To Arrest Computer Virus WriterMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080124/18210266.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080124/18210266.shtmlarrested this week for writing a computer virus. There's just one problem. There's apparently no law in Japan against writing viruses. So, instead, officials had to twist copyright law to use it to arrest the guy. That was possible because the virus itself used popular animation clips as a means of getting people to click on it. Those animation clips violated copyrights. Now, it's nice to see officials cracking down on virus writers, but it's a shame for them to twist copyright law for that purpose. If the problem is that the law doesn't make virus writing illegal, then change the law. Using copyright law for other purposes starts you down a pretty slippery slope. Yes, it's true that the guy was also violating copyrights, but it seems pretty clear from the report that the reason officials went after him was because of the virus. Update: It turns out this story is even more bizarre. TorrentFreak reports that three people were arrested, and the virus itself threatened to kill people for using file sharing systems.

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]]>misuses-of-copyrighthttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080124/18210266Thu, 3 Jan 2008 18:35:00 PSTLatest Antivirus Error: McAfee Blocks A Bunch Of Popular Sites As RiskyMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080103/151314.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080103/151314.shtmlvirus, it appears that McAfee has had its own mistake, as an anti-virus update from the company started warning people to stay away from a bunch of popular sites, including ESPN, Friendster and Ars Technica. McAfee later admitted that it was a mistake on its end, but it seems that we're seeing these kinds of false positives on a fairly frequent basis these days. It's yet another sign that things need to change in how security software works -- but instead of real advances, it still seems like firms are bogged down with things like pointless patent battles.

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]]>sorry-about-thathttps://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080103/151314Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:14:00 PSTKaspersky Decides Windows Explorer Is A VirusMike Masnickhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071221/093555.shtml
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071221/093555.shtmlclassified Windows Explorer as a virus to be quarantined earlier this week. Explorer.exe, of course, is pretty crucial for doing just about anything in Windows, so it probably didn't go over so well with the folks impacted by it. Amusingly, as the article notes, Kaspersky made fun of Microsoft earlier this year when Microsoft's own anti-virus offering quarantined or deleted Microsoft Outlook files. And, of course, last year we also had a story about how Kaspersky's software flagged Microsoft's own anti-virus software as a virus as well. In other words... these anti-virus programs still have some kinks to work out.